ComputerDumb.com

Posts Tagged ‘drive’

When it comes to protecting the data on your computer, you can’t do better than strong encryption. Properly encrypted, your files are safe even if a ne’er-do-well gains access to your computer, either physically or through a network. In the past, we’ve discussed how to use various encryption tools to encrypt individual files or create virtual, encrypted drives. Now, we’ll look at how to get maximum security by encrypting your boot disk using the BitLocker full-drive encryption system that’s built into Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise.

Step 1: Assess Your System

Ideally, you have a motherboard with a Trusted Platform … [Read More...]

It’s easy to build a gaming machine on a budget if you’re playing at 1650×1080 or 1920×1200, but if you’re rocking 2560×1600, you need a little more oomph

As Maximum PC senior editor Gordon Mah Ung puts it, building a budget gaming rig for a 30-inch panel is the metaphorical equivalent of slapping a Ferrari engine into a crappy Ford car. If you can afford a display that rings up north of $2,000, then why the heck are you trying to cut corners on the system you’re connecting it to?

I can’t answer that one for you. But what I … [Read More...]

Since Microsoft released the new Xbox 360, users haven’t had much choice in storage space, just that spendy $130 250GB add-on drive. Now Redmond is upping the ante a bit with a new 320GB drive, and is keeping the price set at $130. Still expensive, but this one does come with a little bonus.

In most regions, the 320GB drive will come with Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Slovakia won’t get the game as an add-on or otherwise, sadly. For those that want the $60 game, this definitely sweetens the deal. Strangely, … [Read More...]

Rumors of a Google branded cloud storage solution are almost as old as the company itself, but yet, it never materialized. The search giant offers a ton of solutions to help migrate your computing needs online, but when it comes to managing files they have been pretty slow to respond. In Steven Levy’s in-depth look at the inner workings of Google titled “In The Plex”, he claims Googlers viewed files as an outdated concept, and uses that logic to explain why the Gdrive never came to be. Years of silence, combined with recent confirmation in print would normally have lead … [Read More...]

About a year ago I set out to create me a Windows 7 live CD. Finally, I am able to present you with the How-To. But before we get into that, let’s review what a LIVE CD is.

A Live CD is an actual Windows Installation that you carry with you on a USB Flash Drive or CD/DVD. The Windows Installation is portable, meaning that you can have your own windows running on any PC you encounter. The Live CDs are most commonly used to repair computers that have crashed or to rescue data from a hard drive before doing … [Read More...]

WinToFlash

I know, there are many solutions … [Read More...]

The Holiday season is just recently past, and a lot of good boys and girls will have gotten a PC game, application, or iTunes gift card in their stockings this year. However, in order to enjoy your new software or media, you have to have enough hard drive wiggle room to use it. To get the job done, you could set out to delete a score of chunky media files and sizeable programs that you only use on occasion. You could also opt to purchase and install a larger hard drive to solve the problem. Either of these plans will … [Read More...]

Previously, we showed you where to download Windows 7 and how to burn it to disc, put it on a thumb drive, or boot from it while using your current Windows 7 installation: Download Windows 7 and Burn it to Disc/put it on a Thumb Drive

Having the whole operating system on disc isn’t necessary if you just need to repair your Windows installation. You should have a repair disc on hand to deal with the following situations:

• You’ve made a change to your PC and it now won’t boot into Windows.
• You get a message such as NTLDR is

… [Read More...]

With a Windows computer there are several maintenance tasks you should run on a regular basis, though most of us forget. Here’s how to automate the most important maintenance tasks in XP, Vista & Windows 7 and keep your PC running like new.

We’ll take a look at automating some of the most common tasks, and while it takes a bit of time to set each one up, once you do you’ll have peace of mind knowing your system is clean and up to date.

Automate Cleaning Up Your Hard Drive

If you want to make sure you have plenty … [Read More...]

When one wants to use Linux instead of Windows usually finds many problems and discovers that one still needs many Windows programs or data. The usual option is to use double booting into either Linux or Windows, but the article suggests a better solution which allows to use Windows in a Linux terminal session and to access data in both Linux and Windows.